Balanced filters for the analysis of Al, Si, K, Ca, Fe, and Ni

Balanced filters evaluated for performance in X-ray fluorescence analysis of lunar and planetary surface material

Coordinate noncommutativity in strong non-uniform magnetic fields

Noncommuting spatial coordinates are studied in the context of a charged particle moving in a strong non-uniform magnetic field. We derive a relation involving the commutators of the coordinates, which generalizes the one realized in a strong constant magnetic field. As an application, we discuss the noncommutativity in the magnetic field present in a magnetic mirror.Comment: 4 page

Landau Levels in the noncommutative AdS2AdS_2

We formulate the Landau problem in the context of the noncommutative analog of a surface of constant negative curvature, that is $AdS_2$ surface, and obtain the spectrum and contrast the same with the Landau levels one finds in the case of the commutative $AdS_2$ space.Comment: 19 pages, Latex, references and clarifications added including 2 figure

On the QED Effective Action in Time Dependent Electric Backgrounds

We apply the resolvent technique to the computation of the QED effective action in time dependent electric field backgrounds. The effective action has both real and imaginary parts, and the imaginary part is related to the pair production probability in such a background. The resolvent technique has been applied previously to spatially inhomogeneous magnetic backgrounds, for which the effective action is real. We explain how dispersion relations connect these two cases, the magnetic case which is essentially perturbative in nature, and the electric case where the imaginary part is nonperturbative. Finally, we use a uniform semiclassical approximation to find an expression for very general time dependence for the background field. This expression is remarkably similar in form to Schwinger's classic result for the constant electric background.Comment: 27 pages, no figures; reference adde

The Negative Dimensional Oscillator at Finite Temperature

We study the thermal behavior of the negative dimensional harmonic oscillator of Dunne and Halliday that at zero temperature, due to a hidden BRST symmetry of the classical harmonic oscillator, is shown to be equivalent to the Grassmann oscillator of Finkelstein and Villasante. At finite temperature we verify that although being described by Grassmann numbers the thermal behavior of the negative dimensional oscillator is quite different from a Fermi system.Comment: 8 pages, IF/UFRJ/93/0

Chern-Simons Solitons, Toda Theories and the Chiral Model

The two-dimensional self-dual Chern--Simons equations are equivalent to the conditions for static, zero-energy solutions of the $(2+1)$-dimensional gauged nonlinear Schr\"odinger equation with Chern--Simons matter-gauge dynamics. In this paper we classify all finite charge $SU(N)$ solutions by first transforming the self-dual Chern--Simons equations into the two-dimensional chiral model (or harmonic map) equations, and then using the Uhlenbeck--Wood classification of harmonic maps into the unitary groups. This construction also leads to a new relationship between the $SU(N)$ Toda and $SU(N)$ chiral model solutions

A review of agriculture on the Esperance Downs

Esperance is approaching a period of rapid development based on the results of research at Esperance Downs Research Station and on farmers\u27 properties in the area. This article reviews the soils, vegetation, climate, agricultural development and development costs of the area

Large-order Perturbation Theory and de Sitter/Anti de Sitter Effective Actions

We analyze the large-order behavior of the perturbative weak-field expansion of the effective Lagrangian density of a massive scalar in de Sitter and anti de Sitter space, and show that this perturbative information is not sufficient to describe the non-perturbative behavior of these theories, in contrast to the analogous situation for the Euler-Heisenberg effective Lagrangian density for charged scalars in constant electric and magnetic background fields. For example, in even dimensional de Sitter space there is particle production, but the effective Lagrangian density is nevertheless real, even though its weak-field expansion is a divergent non-alternating series whose formal imaginary part corresponds to the correct particle production rate. This apparent puzzle is resolved by considering the full non-perturbative structure of the relevant Feynman propagators, and cannot be resolved solely from the perturbative expansion.Comment: 18 page

On The Finite Temperature Chern-Simons Coefficient

We compute the exact finite temperature effective action in a 0+1-dimensional field theory containing a topological Chern-Simons term, which has many features in common with 2+1-dimensional Chern-Simons theories. This exact result explains the origin and meaning of puzzling temperature dependent coefficients found in various naive perturbative computations in the higher dimensional models.Comment: 11 pages LaTeX; no figure

Fluid Mechanics of Everyday Objects

High speed Schlieren videos were produced highlighting the fluid mechanics found in everyday objects. This video (entry 102369) was submitted as part of the Gallery of Fluid Motion 2013, which is a showcase of fluid dynamics videos.Comment: Both a high-resolution version and a low-resolution version of the submitted video are available for downloa